Vanderbilt Commodores

No. 22 Vanderbilt Continues Former-No. 1 Texas A&M's Struggles

The Commodores overcame a 2-0 first inning deficit to beat the nation's preseason No. 1 team 5-3 on Thursday night.
Taylor Hodges|
Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin heads to the dugout before a game against Florida Atlantic at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.
Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin heads to the dugout before a game against Florida Atlantic at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

If Texas A&M was hoping to use its weekend series against Vanderbilt to correct its disappointing season, the Aggies gave themselves early in Thursday’s game.

Jace LaViolette hit a two-run home run to fight field that scored Wyatt Hensler, who reached base after being hit by a pitch and gave Texas A&M a 2-0 lead. However, it would be the last runs scored by Texas A&M in a 5-3 loss to the Commodores.

Vanderbilt took the lead in the third inning on a Jacob Humphrey home run that scored three runs, including runs by Jonathan Vastine and Caden Holcomb to put Vanderbilt ahead 3-2. The Commodores added another run in the fourth and sixth innings to build up to the 5-3 final score.

While the Commodores’ offense did enough to get in front of the Aggies, the pitching staff kept the Aggies from mounting a serious comeback.

Connor Fennell started the game on the mound for Vanderbilt and turned in a solid 3.2 innings of work and wasn’t relived until he gave up a single and walk in back-to-back at-bats in the fourth inning. Kranzler struck out the final batter of the inning and held the Aggies scoreless in the next inning to earn his second win of the season.

Sawyer Hawks finished off the game for the Commodores, pitching four innings and allowing just one hit while striking out six batters. Ryan Prager suffered his first loss of the season for Texas A&M in seven innings of work.

The Commodores and Aggies will continue their weekend series at 6 p.m. Friday on SEC Network+. JD Thompson is slated to get the start on the mound for Vanderbilt against Texas A&M’s Justin Lamin.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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